What my team and I are attempting to do is develop technology that can ascertain what specific medicine and treatment will work best on a cancer patient based on analysis of their DNA. We are endeavouring to find the therapies that will be most effective and will limit the patient’s exposure to uncomfortable side effects.

Our aim is to find the root cause of cancer in each individual scenario, and DNA analysis is the most accurate way of doing that. Genomics allows us to understand cancer in a way that cannot be achieved through MRI and CT scanning; we can see mutations, which means we can be far more confident that the treatments we suggest will target the cancer successfully.

I know from personal experience the potential value that these innovations can offer. I helped my mother through cancer treatment for five years and saw first-hand how long it can take to find the most effective drugs. I had to watch her go through a range of unpleasant side effects, and that’s something I wouldn’t wish on anybody. If through our work we can make a patient’s life better by speeding up the treatment process and making their experience more bearable, then we’re doing something really worthwhile.

The main goal of the healthcare industry is of course to provide care and to manufacture solutions that not only cure people, but make their entire treatment journey – from initial diagnosis to eventual all-clear – as free from pain and stress as possible.

Anyone who has ambitions not only of helping people, but of progressing in a growing industry that offers the opportunity to continually learn and acquire new skills, should consider a role in Philips. The healthcare tech sector is constantly evolving and expanding, and it’s a very exciting time to be involved. Our overall objective of helping people will never change, but I can guarantee no two days at Philips will ever be the same.